Reaching Retribution (The Prophesized Series) (25 page)

“It’s not me I’m worried about,” he tells me. “
How do you know that?”

“It’s just a feeling I have.” I
whisper to him as I step back.

As I turn around, Adam reaches out and grabs my wrist and pulls me back. “I’m sorry for high school.”

“That’s in the past,” I say as I step away from him.

“I was jealous of him
,” he states. I instantly know that he’s referring to Colton. Adam told me something similar before, but I didn’t think much about it then.

“I know.” Taking a few steps back, I start walking
toward Zahtri. Liam looks torn. He wants to be with me during this, but I know I’m supposed to do this alone. This is what I’m supposed to do. It’s him versus me. No one else. It hurts to leave him standing there, but it has to be done. I didn’t get to tell him that Claire came to me while I was unconscious after Zahtri pushed me into a wall. She said that Liam was meant to protect me for this moment. Everything was leading to this. I no longer need Liam’s protection, but I know nothing I tell him will make him believe that. No matter what, Liam will always be my protector, with or without magic binding him to me.

“Please remember Ryanne, a dawn is
coming. Don’t give up just yet,” he yells after me.

“This is darkest dawn I’ve ever seen, Liam.”
I give Liam and Adam a small smile as I call my magic to me to jump onto the platform. Zahtri stands up straighter when he sees me, but doesn’t move.

Two Gadramicks jump onto the platform with me: one in front and the other behind me. Simultaneously, they run
toward me. I roll my eyes. You’d think these Gadramicks would communicate with each other to see which stunts work against me and which things are just stupid to attempt. I push my magic underneath me. When they’re both a foot away from me, I jump and hover ten feet above the ground. The men collide into each other and fall over. I twist my body in the air and then land in a crouch on the platform. They groan and don’t get up immediately. I look toward Zahtri again. He looks surprised, but still hasn’t moved.

I bring my attention back to the two Gadramicks on the ground in front of me. They slowly stand up and turn
toward me, angry and determined. I siphon their anger and use it to strengthen my magic. I smile as another emotion hits me. I stand up and slowly walk toward them. The men look surprised to see me approaching.

I make sure to add an extra swing to my hips. I turn
toward Zahtri and smile when I see their eyes soften. Even in a fight, you can always distract a man. Zahtri looks angry when he sees my simple plan working. I stop right in front of the men and place my hands on my hips. “Hey, boys,” I coo.

They look me over right as I
push some magic out. I trail my finger across their chests as I walk around them. Both of them watch me, but don’t do anything. They can feel my magic moving around them, but neither of them react. When I’m standing behind them, I thrust my magic out and send them flying off the platform.

I know he’s there before I turn around. “Using you’re feminine charms, I s
ee,” Larkin says.

“Emma always told me to flaunt it,” I say. Zahtri is staring at me through narrowed eyes. Why
isn’t he attacking?

“I know what you’re planning on doing, Ryanne.”

“I’m going after Zahtri,” I nod. Everyone knows that.

“You’re not going to sacrifice yourself.”

“If it’ll stop Zahtri, I’ll do it.”

“Think about what your death would do to everyone. Don’t do that
to us. You didn’t see Colton this past week. Don’t do that to
him.
”

“I may not have a choice, Larkin.” I put up a shield around us, so no one can attack us. A man runs
toward us and bounces off the shield. “He’s stronger than you think.”

“No, he’s not. I know exactly how strong he is and I know that you are stronger, but you don’t believe in yourself, so you don’t see your strength. You think that you have to sacrifice yourself to prove you’re strong, but you don’t. You can take Zahtri on without it resulting in your death.” Larkin grabs my shoulders. “Ryanne, look at me.”

I keep my eyes on the fight around us. I need to be out there. Right now, it’s hard to tell who has the upper hand. I watch Natalie fighting someone. The man behind her suddenly falls to the ground, so I know that Colton is fighting with her while invisible. Liam and Adam are working together fighting off Gadramicks right below me. Liam looks directly at me, wondering what is going on.

Larkin grabs my chin and forces me to look up at him. “Ryanne,
when you died, you were supposed to overcome all these insecurities. You are strong, and you are prepared. You can do this without causing your death. Would your mom want you to just give up in the end?” Harsh. Using the mom card is just mean.

“Some things are har
d to change,” I whisper to him.

“Not if you have faith,” he whispers back and pushes my hair away from my face. I never have a hair tie when I need one. “You gave an awesome speech earlier. Fight for those you love, Ryanne. Don’t forget how many of us actually do love you. No one will forgiv
e you if you sacrifice yourself,” Larkin looks toward Natalie, but I know he’s actually looking at Colton. “No one.”

“Larkin, we don’t know if any of us are going to get out of this. I’ve never had to go against someone as strong as Zahtri before
, and I’ve come close to death so many times. There’s nothing that says I won’t end up dead this time.”

“Just be careful, Ryanne. That’s all I’m saying. Don’t try to be the superhero here.”

“I never wanted to be a superhero, Larkin,” I whisper to him as I drop the shield. “Now, go help our family. Don’t let anyone get hurt.” I run to the other end of the platform and jump off. Zahtri is standing by himself on this side waiting for me.

“Took ya long enough, darling.”

“I said all I could,” Larkin says as he transports behind me. Natalie yelps as someone barrels into her. She falls to the ground and gasps while trying to push the Gadramick off. Larkin and I both grab onto his back. Larkin stabs him in the stomach and throws him to the side. I reach down and help her stand up.

My eyes travel behind the wooden platform to Ryanne. She’s tense and prepared, but she’s not fighting Zahtri.
I see Dravin slowly walking toward her. Ryanne suddenly turns to her right. I see Adam fighting through the Gadramicks, trying to get to her. She turns around and her eyes widen.

Put a shield up, Ryanne.

Dravin brings his arm back. The little sunlight breaking through the clouds, gleams off the metal dagger in his hand as he releases the weapon. Ryanne screams, but doesn’t throw up a shield.

“Ryanne!” I yell right as Adam jump
s in front of her.

The dagger implants into his shoulder. Adam falls back into Ryanne, knocking both of them to the ground. Ryanne moves
out from under him. Leaning over him, I can see tears falling from her eyes. Liam runs over to them. Ryanne yells for Logan, but Liam starts shaking his head. Even from this distance, I can see the large amount of blood pouring out of the wound.

Some of their weapons must be infused with the same magic as the dagger that Enrique had.
I hear thunder crack ahead. We all stop as the deep noise shakes the group beneath us. If there’s thunder rolling, Ryanne is very mad.

Even the Gadramicks stop fighting when the thunder echoes through the field. Ryanne slowly stands and faces Dravin. The Ryanne standing there is not one I recognize. I’ve seen her mad. I’ve seen her upset, but I’ve never seen this much emotion on her before. A look of fear crosses Dravin’s fac
e as he starts walking backward.

I reach out to my left and punch the
Gadramick in the jaw that was trying to walk toward Natalie. No one knows that I’m invisible until it’s too late.

“He did everything you asked of him,”
Ryanne yells. “You killed him!”

“
He slowly stopped listening every time you came here.”

“You brought me here!” Ryanne screams as more thunder ro
lls through the sky. The little bit of sunlight that was visible earlier is no more. Dark clouds dictate the sky, creating a more suitable atmosphere for what is happening.

“Oh, he better start running,” Larkin says. We all know that Ryanne’s power only affects the weather when she’s very
upset. She has more control of that now.

Liam picks up Adam’s body and
drags him out of the clearing. Ryanne stops in front of Dravin and pokes him in the chest. It’s strange how we can all hear her right now.

“Did you really think
you would get away with all of this? Did you think you’d be able to experiment on humans? That you could just capture mages and try to take their magic? That you could just kill those who didn’t give you the right results and go about your happy life like you didn’t do anything wrong? Huh? Every action has a consequence, Dravin.”

Dravin laughs and takes a step
toward Ryanne. “Put away your magic. I’m not going to fight you.”

“No, you’re just going to throw daggers infused with dark magic at me. Dark magic that Zahtri told you about. Is that what you call not fighting?”

Dravin takes another step forward. He’s literally standing inches away from her. Ryanne has to arch her head up to see him clearly. “You don’t know what you’re doing, Ryanne. Call off this attack and you and all your little friends will get out of here alive.”

“I’m not afraid of death, Dravin
. How many times do I have to tell you that? I’m not keeping any of them here against their will. They’re here because they want to be, not because anyone is forcing them.” Instead of letting Dravin say anything else, Ryanne brings her knee up and hits him in the crotch.

I bite my tongue to keep from laughing. I know
all too well how that feels. Ryanne wastes no time. When Dravin grunts and bends over, she grabs the back of his head and slams it into her knee. Even from where I’m standing I can hear the crunch of his nose breaking. Taking a step back, she spins around and kicks her leg out, connecting with the side of his head. When Dravin spins to the ground, Ryanne pushes magic out and sends him flying into the tree line.

“Oh, shit,” A Gadramick beside me exclaims as he starts backing up. “I’m outta here. I didn’t sign up for this.”

Ryanne stands there for a few seconds before turning around. She briefly glances at the crowd watching her, but doesn’t react. Her eyes go straight to Zahtri again.

He pushes away from the tree he was leaning against and slowly starts clapping as he walks
toward the center of the field. A steady rain is now falling from the sky—the only signs of Ryanne’s conflicting emotions. She now has a blank expression on her face as she watches Zahtri move forward.

“That was an interesting little show you just put on,” Zahtri says he as walks
to Ryanne. I notice a few more Gadramicks leave the field. Ryanne just stares at him, but doesn’t say anything. “You don’t understand what you’re getting yourself into, little one.”

“Only my family gets to call me that, Zahtri,” Ryanne says as she takes a step
toward him. Zahtri looks slightly surprised at Ryanne’s boldness. He doesn’t know her like the rest of us. When she’s angry, she pushes aside her insecurities and becomes the confident Ryanne she needs to be. She doesn’t know that she does it. She still thinks she’s not strong enough, but she has it in her and it comes out when she needs it most.

The wind intensifies around us as Ryanne calls magic to her. “I can read your mind, darling, your magic
is going to be useless.”

“Really?” Ryanne says as she pushes pure magic
toward him. Zahtri flies back into the tree line and slams into the base of a tree. “Because I’m projecting false thoughts, Zahtri,” she mumbles as she slowly walks toward him.

Zahtri grunts and sits up
, glaring at Ryanne. She stops when she sees the smile he gives her right before he disappears.

“Where’d he go?” Natalie asks me. As soon as the words leave her mouth, Za
htri reappears behind Ryanne, grabs her, and transports out of the field.

“
Are you freaking kidding me?” I shout and reach out to hit the closest Gadramick to me.